Brother Nail Gun of Reasoned Discussion (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} wendersfan) wrote,@ 2005-01-04 09:17:00 |
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Mmmm... Corruption
DeLay, Republicans Reverse Indictment Rule Change
Mon Jan 3,11:06 PM ET
By Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas got fellow Republicans on Monday to reverse a recent rule change that would have allowed him to keep his leadership post even if indicted.
They also moved to make it more difficult for the House ethics committee to investigate a complaint against any member.
Republicans applauded behind closed doors as they approved on a voice vote DeLay's motion to revert to their decade-old rule that requires a leader indicted of a felony to step aside, said spokesman Jonathan Grella.
Three of DeLay's associates were indicted by a Texas grand jury in September in connection with illegal fund raising. The prosecutor has said the investigation is not finished.
"Tom spoke from the heart," said Grella. "He said he wanted to put the focus on the Republican agenda (and such matters as education and health care) -- not him."
"He also expressed his long-standing confidence that he does not expect to be indicted," Grella said.
Democrats accused Republicans of lowering the ethical bar for leadership when House Republicans on Nov. 17 changed their rules to allow DeLay to keep his post if indicted.
Democrats earlier on Monday changed their rules to require any Democratic leader indicted of a felony that carries two or more years in prison to step down, and said Republicans should do the same.
Before Democrats could make an issue of it when the new 109th Congress convenes on Tuesday, DeLay got Republicans to change their rules.
"Once again, Tom DeLay outsmarts Democrats," Grella said.
The action came as House Republicans rejected objections by Democrats and public interest groups and approved another proposed rule change that would allow either party to stop the House ethics committee from investigating a complaint against a member.
The measure will come up for a vote before the full House on Tuesday, and Republican leaders said they expect to have the votes to adopt it.
Under the measure, a complaint before the ethics committee -- composed of five Democrats and five Republicans -- would die after 45 days if no action was taken on it. Currently, if no action is taken within 45 days, the complaint automatically goes to an investigative subcommittee.
While Republican proponents said the proposed change would "restore the presumption of innocence," critics said it would undermine the policing of members.
"We just weakened the ethics rules," said Rep. Christopher Shays, a moderate Connecticut Republican who opposed the proposed change.
"We just said, 'We aren't going to investigate a Democrat unless Democrats agree to it, and we aren't going to investigate a Republican unless Republicans agree to it,"' Shays said.
The ethics committee last year admonished DeLay on three matters: a 2002 fund-raiser that it said gave the appearance of donors getting special access; enlisting the help of a federal agency in a Texas political spat, and offering a political favor to a member in an effort to win passage of a bill.
House Republican leaders on Monday, after some members said publicly they opposed lowering ethics standards, withdraw another proposed change that would have required a violation of a specific rule for any finding of wrongdoing.
DeLay, Republicans Reverse Indictment Rule Change
Mon Jan 3,11:06 PM ET
By Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas got fellow Republicans on Monday to reverse a recent rule change that would have allowed him to keep his leadership post even if indicted.
They also moved to make it more difficult for the House ethics committee to investigate a complaint against any member.
Republicans applauded behind closed doors as they approved on a voice vote DeLay's motion to revert to their decade-old rule that requires a leader indicted of a felony to step aside, said spokesman Jonathan Grella.
Three of DeLay's associates were indicted by a Texas grand jury in September in connection with illegal fund raising. The prosecutor has said the investigation is not finished.
"Tom spoke from the heart," said Grella. "He said he wanted to put the focus on the Republican agenda (and such matters as education and health care) -- not him."
"He also expressed his long-standing confidence that he does not expect to be indicted," Grella said.
Democrats accused Republicans of lowering the ethical bar for leadership when House Republicans on Nov. 17 changed their rules to allow DeLay to keep his post if indicted.
Democrats earlier on Monday changed their rules to require any Democratic leader indicted of a felony that carries two or more years in prison to step down, and said Republicans should do the same.
Before Democrats could make an issue of it when the new 109th Congress convenes on Tuesday, DeLay got Republicans to change their rules.
"Once again, Tom DeLay outsmarts Democrats," Grella said.
The action came as House Republicans rejected objections by Democrats and public interest groups and approved another proposed rule change that would allow either party to stop the House ethics committee from investigating a complaint against a member.
The measure will come up for a vote before the full House on Tuesday, and Republican leaders said they expect to have the votes to adopt it.
Under the measure, a complaint before the ethics committee -- composed of five Democrats and five Republicans -- would die after 45 days if no action was taken on it. Currently, if no action is taken within 45 days, the complaint automatically goes to an investigative subcommittee.
While Republican proponents said the proposed change would "restore the presumption of innocence," critics said it would undermine the policing of members.
"We just weakened the ethics rules," said Rep. Christopher Shays, a moderate Connecticut Republican who opposed the proposed change.
"We just said, 'We aren't going to investigate a Democrat unless Democrats agree to it, and we aren't going to investigate a Republican unless Republicans agree to it,"' Shays said.
The ethics committee last year admonished DeLay on three matters: a 2002 fund-raiser that it said gave the appearance of donors getting special access; enlisting the help of a federal agency in a Texas political spat, and offering a political favor to a member in an effort to win passage of a bill.
House Republican leaders on Monday, after some members said publicly they opposed lowering ethics standards, withdraw another proposed change that would have required a violation of a specific rule for any finding of wrongdoing.
